VCDL Win Injunction to Keep SafeSide Tactical Open

Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) have won a big victory in the battle to reopen indoor gun ranges across the Commonwealth of Virginia.

VA Governor Ralph Northam

Anti-gun Gov. Ralph Northam deemed indoor gun ranges nonessential, and ordered them closed. When GOA and VCDL brought suit to challenge that decision, Northam attempted to remove the suit out of state court and have it considered by a federal court. That tactic backfired, however, when the federal judge sided with GOA/VCDL, and sent the case back to state court. The complaint was subsequently heard by a state judge, who also ruled in favor of GOA and VCDL, handing Governor Northam back-to-back losses.

The judge’s order recognizes SafeSide Lynchburg’s ability to “operate to the fullest extent possible in a manner consistent with social distancing and sanitizing guidance from federal and state authorities.”

GOA’s Erich Pratt and VCDL’s Phillip Van Cleave were excited by the news. “Gov. Northam has little regard for the rights of gun owners, and his closure of indoor gun ranges is no different. GOA will keep opposing Northam and stand up for the rights of Virginians in the commonwealth,” Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President for GOA, concluded.